The time has come for Congress and President Barack Obama to face the issue of where most of the federal government's money is spent — namely, on entitlements and tax policy, South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"We're having a debate right now in Washington about 15 percent of the pie. And the other 85 percent is not being addressed," the former Palmetto State governor said Wednesday. "We've got to deal with the entitlements. We've got to deal with tax policy."

"The process is broken down. The government is operating on what they called the continuing resolution, and said, 'Let's take what we saved last year and spend it this year,'" he said. " That's the way we operate now."

Congress and the White House are deadlocked over spending issues involving the continuing resolution and the country's debt ceiling.

"The president is overplaying his hand in terms of trying to create political pressure by inconveniencing a large number of people, whether they're visiting Washington, D.C., or going to other spots that entails or involves federal properties around this country," he said.

Sanford said the argument that Democrats have already conceded on spending issues in the past has no bearing on the current situation. Heurged leaders in the Senate and House to work with the White House.

"What happened six months or two years ago is not relevant to the crisis we are at right now. And we need for all three parties to sit down at the table," he said.